Garcia relieved to escape punishment in Valderrama

Sergio Garcia remains favourite for the Volvo Masters at Valderrama this weekend – but only after a rules inquiry which for a few anxious moments looked as if it might result in his disqualification.

The sight of European Tour chief referee John Paramor waiting for him at the end of his second round last night brought back memories of Sydney three years ago.

“I had a little flash, yeah,” said Garcia.

On that occasion he was leading the Greg Norman Holden International when a two-stroke penalty was imposed by Paramor for a wrong drop and the Spaniard’s outspoken comments and angry reaction – he hit a tree and a buggy with a golf club – led to a €7,200 fine.

He lost a play-off to Aaron Baddeley the following day as well, but the 24-year-old has been cleared this time of any wrong-doing and took a one-stroke lead over Scot Alastair Forsyth into today.

At the short third hole Garcia had gone into the trees and, having told playing partner Jose Manuel Lara that he was playing a provisional ball, hit it to 12 feet.

He then said to his caddie they were not going to look for the original one and two-putted for a double bogey five.

Later, however, officials were informed that the first ball had been found in bounds and if Garcia was informed of that at the time, he was not allowed to continue with the provisional ball and he faced being disqualified.

Paramor admitted he found it “bizarre in the extreme” that not one of around 500 fans had brought it to Garcia’s attention, but that is what the Ryder Cup star said, there was no evidence to the contrary and so there was no punishment.

“He was very relaxed and couldn’t understand why I was in the recording area,” said Paramor. “It was not long before he realised it was quite a serious situation to be in.

“I took him to the TV compound and that seemed to confirm that nobody came to tell him. I can’t remember it happening before, but he went ahead and played the provisional ball, which then became the ball in play.”

Garcia stated: “It’s not nice to see an official waiting. I was surprised and wondered who had done something wrong.

“I didn’t know it was for me because I didn’t think I did anything. The way he put it I thought I could be disqualified, but I told him everything I did and everything that went through my head.”

What mattered most to Garcia, he insisted, was not that he stayed in the tournament, but that he was clearly innocent.

“That’s a bigger prize than the Volvo Masters, a major or any tournament – I couldn’t live with myself. The most important thing was not feeling bad within myself.”

Five birdies in a brilliant back-nine 31 lifted Garcia to six under, while Forsyth bogeyed the last to slip to five under.

The Paisley golfer is himself one ahead of Garcia’s Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter, the only player in the second round not to drop a stroke all day.

Darren Clarke would love to have been able to say that, but he ran up a sextuple bogey 11 on the controversial 17th, hitting three balls into the water short of the green.

The Ulsterman had played the previous 16 in five under and was joint leader, but now he has nine strokes to make up.